


Returning Darkness

by vonnacat



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Female Friendship, Friends to Enemies, Romance, Saving the World, Shanshu Prophecy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-30
Updated: 2013-02-08
Packaged: 2017-11-19 21:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/577798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonnacat/pseuds/vonnacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the destruction of Sunnydale, the gang unravels and go their separate ways. But of course they're brought together once again to save the world from...  Willow, it would seem. Or is she actually the one doing the saving? Who is truly on the good side this time, and what are the Scoobies going to have to go through to find out?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I wrote this story because I really like the idea of the gang splitting up after the finale and then being forced to come back together, so I hope that you enjoy it!

Sunnydale was destroyed. Like the city, the original Scoobies' lives had also fallen apart, but they didn't realize that until it was too late.

They always had a love-hate relationship with the city. It was their home, there was an obliged love for it, but there was also a hatred for it due to all the tragedies that took place there. Its obliteration gave them a fresh start. Their homes and possessions were gone, and while it was sad, it was also liberating. They spent some time in L.A. after the final battle to rest and decide what their next move would be. They now had to take all the new slayers into consideration, so Giles suggested starting a type of school to train and teach the new slayers, if that's what they wanted. If not, then at least they'd would be made aware as to what they were. Giles got the Council involved, or what was left of it, on board so they headed to England and established their new headquarters.

Everyone decided to be a part of it, and they all had their jobs within the new program. Buffy, Faith, Kennedy, and Robin would train. Giles would be in charge of everything, and would also teach, as would Willow. Xander would do a little of everything, and Dawn was going to study to become a Watcher since there were so few left.

The idea was wonderful and exciting at first, but it was just a honeymoon phase. Eventually the repercussions of the past few months caught up with them. Buffy was understandably grief stricken, although she kept it inside as she always did, and slowly she grew to resent the others. She was in pain, but they didn't notice, or acknowledge, her feelings because they had their own pain to deal with, but some of what she was feeling, just a fraction in comparison to her grief, was due to them. They had doubted her too much, especially after all that they had been through over the years, and then they had the nerve to kick her out of her own home, her mother's home. It was the biggest slap in the face, and they acted like it never happened, like it was forgettable. Buffy wondered whether or not they'd turn their backs on her again if given the opportunity. But the biggest thing she was dealing with was Spike's death. It left a profound effect on Buffy, a lot more than she expected it to. She didn't realize how present he always was in her life, how much he had been there with her through, until he was gone. Now he was only alive in her dreams, and even then things were rarely happy.

Xander was also filled with grief after losing Anya. They had spent years together. He knew her, and she knew him, like no one else did. There was much that he regretted about their relationship and in her last days they were finally making up for that, but then her life was taken from her, and him. He wasn't holding up that well, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold up at all.

With everyone else wrapped up in their own things, Willow spent more time with Kennedy when she could. Dawn was in the middle of it all, and Faith and Robin were on the sidelines. Although, Faith stayed loyal to Buffy after they had talked about things a bit, as much as they could due to their history and as much as Faith's personality allowed. She wasn't really one for talking. And Andrew… Well, he saw everything play out, and was helpless to stop it.

The Scoobies' lives were in a downward spiral, but would they survive it, or let it tear them apart?


	2. The Outsider Lives

Everything was empty and black, and then all of a sudden there was life again.

He had forgotten how bright the world was. Wait, that was just the sun. Not again. _Why am I standing in the sun? I'm tired of burning._ But he didn't burn. _I'm still a vampire, aren't I? How'd I even get here? And who the hell are these people?_ His brain was working slowly; things weren't processing right away. And then… _Angel._ Angel was standing right in front of him. _This is his fault, it must be._

He went to attack, but something odd happened. _Why am I standing in a desk?_

_Bugger this_ , he thought. 

Spike was a ghost. It was a little too much to understand. He didn't even know why he was alive again. _I should be dead. It was my time… the right way…_

_Guess I really am meant to live forever._


	3. United We... Aren't?

The Scoobies' charade of happiness came crashing down one day, as they all knew it would.

A pointless argument between Kennedy and Xander caused it. She said that the girls should be trained every single day of the week. Xander thought they should have certain days off, so they wouldn't wear themselves out.

At some point Willow jumped in to defend Kennedy, causing Xander to snap at Wil. Giles stepped in to calm things down, but it backfired.

Buffy just sat there zombie-like. That's how she usually was, except in the beginning. When they first got to England she had mastered the art of acting like she was fine. The only person she really talked to was Faith, as surprising as it was. They actually considered each other good friends, but they would never tell that to each other.

By now, things were starting to get out of hand. People were talking over each other. Some were just yelling. Everyone, that is, except Buffy.

"Buffy, will you please try talking some sense into these people?" She didn't even notice who asked the question.

"Umm, I don't know. I don't really have anything to say…"

Xander looked annoyed. "Yeah, you never have anything to say. We can't even tell who you are anymore, Buffy."

The arguing was uncontrollable. You couldn't make out a single word.

Andrew wasn't one for fighting. He had been trying speak, but he couldn't get through. Then his screams shocked everyone out of their anger. "Stop it! Everyone just stop fighting! I can't take it anymore! You all are stuck in your own worlds and you don't see what's going on with all your friends."

Everyone was silent. Guilty looks were plastered on their faces now. 

"You don't recognize Buffy? Well, that's because she's drowning. You guys talk about her behind her back. 'Oh, what's wrong with Buffy? Maybe she misses Sunnydale? Maybe it's because of the other slayers? Could it really be because of Spike' Are you people blind? Of course it's because of Spike! The only people who realize that are Dawn and I- and Faith. She even carries his lighter with her! You all never realized how great their love was."

It was true. Buffy did keep that with her, but she didn't know that Andrew knew that. Tears started welling in her eyes.

He continued to point out all the things that were wrong with the group. Buffy didn't hear any of it. In the middle of it all she got up and went to her room where she started packing.

Faith followed her. "Goin' somewhere?"

"I can't stay here. I just need to get away, take a break, regroup, re…something…"

Faith and Buffy had become oddly dependent on each other. Faith had a hidden resentment towards the new slayers that only Buffy could understand (although she did and still does support Buffy's idea to share the slayer power), and her and Robin were always on and off again. Besides those two, there wasn't anyone else that was particularly fond of her. Buffy only talked about Spike with Dawn and Faith, and that brought them quite a bit closer.

"I'll go with you."

Buffy stopped and looked at her. It wasn't that she didn't want Faith coming along, she did, and she was touched by Faith's choice, but she just didn't know where she was going or what she was going to do when she got there.

"Are you sure? I don't really have a plan, and I mean, what about Robin?"

"He's a big boy. He'll understand."

"You guys are good together. In an odd way…" Buffy told her. 

"Yeah, I guess we are…" Faith didn't really like to think too much about their relationship, so she got her mind back on track, "I should start packing then too, huh?"

In less than an hour Faith and Buffy were off. The only person Buffy said goodbye to was Dawn.

"I love you. I'm so sorry I have to leave, I just-"

"It's okay, I understand. I really do. Just be careful and I love you, too. It's not like we're never gonna see each other again, Buffy."

Her sister's newfound maturity still surprised her sometimes.

"Of course not. You're my sister, annoying sister, but sister nonetheless. What would I do without you anyway?" Buffy said as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm gonna go before I make a scene here. Bye, Dawnie. I love you."

And with that they were gone. They didn't know where they were going, what they were going to do, they didn't even know what they wanted to do, but it didn't matter because they had never felt so free.


	4. Hasta La Vista

The rest of the Scoobies were still angry at each other the next day. No one paid enough attention to each other anymore to notice that the two original slayers were gone, only Dawn and Robin knew. When it was discovered that they had left, the person who showed the most emotions about it was Andrew, who shed a few tears.

This was the day they all went their separate ways. 

Willow decided to travel the world and unlock all its magical mysteries that she could. Kennedy wanted to stay to continue training the other girls, so they split up. It was amicable, but still upsetting. 

Xander went back to the states. Somehow he ended up in a bar in Texas. He stayed there for some reason, and started a new life. A vampire and slayer free life. 

The feeling around the house was too cold for Dawn now, so she went back to Rome. They had stayed there for a while once, and she developed a strange love for the city in her short time there. Or maybe she just had warm thoughts about it since she was there with Buffy, but at least it was someplace to go. 

Buffy and Faith headed for good old Mexico. Faith knew a guy who said that the demon activity was pretty high in a few places there. So they went to some little town and got a small house to live in with some money they had been given from the government after Sunnydale was destroyed. It's not like they were going to move to the suburbs and get a 9 to 5 job. Slaying is what they knew and they were damn good at it. This plan gave them everything they needed. 

Compared to the house in England, their place was a complete downgrade, but they didn't mind. The girls also didn't mind that they couldn't speak the local tongue; they'd make due.

In the beginning, they had their doubts that they weren't going to like it there, but eventually they truly started enjoying themselves. There were your average vamps and demons, and the local bar was okay. Buffy and Faith frequented there quite a bit. They would drink, dance, and have more fun than they were used to, the type of fun that brought back old memories, but without any stealing or people murdering, of course.

Spike was figuring out how to live as a ghost and without Buffy. It was a work in progress, and there were a few bumps to smooth through, but he was holding up alright.

Everyone was rediscovering themselves. They had no weight on their shoulders anymore. For the first time in years they were being selfish in their decisions. With all the new slayers they no longer had to worry about protecting the world; there were other people for that now. Sunnydale always held them back, although they'd never regret that, but it was just a simple truth. 

And this is how their lives went on. It was pretty good for them all, for a while anyway. But, of course, all good things come to an end, and there was no one who knew that as well as the Scoobies did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So I know not much has happened yet, but ch. 6 is where the plot starts, so I'll be posting 5 and 6 today as well and I don't want to drag the set up out even more.


	5. Hunting for Companionship

Buffy and Faith were running through the town chasing a vamp. It was exhilarating. They loved doing this; they lived for it. There was no pressure from Giles or anyone else, they were on their own.

He was dust minutes later. It was an easy slay; he must have been a baby vamp. Afterwards, Buffy and Faith headed to the tiny bar they were so fond of. It was no Bronze, but that didn't stop them from acting like it was. The girls barely had to buy their own drinks and eventually the twosome would end up on the dance floor; actually there was no dance floor, just the regular floor, but they treated it as such. 

It had been two years since they left England. They continued slaying, training, just now they had added partying and drinking. They had been through some crazy nights. There was an unfortunate incident involving cocaine and a drug dealer (but it was a total misunderstanding), waking up with an unknown 200 pound demon, which they swore to never talk about again, and some bad bar fights.

Two years had gone by without talking to each other. Old friends were now scattered across the world not knowing if they would ever see each other again, or if they even wanted to. 

Xander was still living in Texas doing construction, and he was dating a girl named Kelly. She didn't know much about his life before. Demons and true evil didn't exist to her, and Xander wanted to keep it that way for both their sake. He knew it wasn't love, but she brought some peace to his life.

Willow was living in Japan now after traveling for about a year. She enjoyed it there, but she missed going from place to place. When she wasn't practicing new spells or uncovering magical secrets, Willow ran a blog about magic and it was quite popular. 

Meanwhile, Dawn was still in school. She had her own friends, boyfriend, and life. She missed the chaos of being a slayer's sister, but not having to worry about world-ending issues was refreshing. 

Giles, Robin, and Kennedy were still running the slayer school. Honestly, nothing had really changed there.

They were all happy, no doubt, but there was a growing sadness inside them all that could eat them alive if they continued to ignore it.

But unbeknownst to them, some old friends were going to come back and make them face their problems first, whether they wanted to or not.


	6. The Truth About the Future

It had been almost a year and a half since the battle in L.A. against the senior partners. Spike, Angel, and Illyria were still together. They had been trying to put the city back to what it was before the destruction, although it wasn't so easy. They mostly went around pulling the bodies of demons off the streets and burning them. Of course the government had gotten involved, but Angel and Spike did what they could. The senior partners were still after them, but since the three survived their wrath, the higher ups were hesitant to strike again, but they were still watching and making new plans to kill Angel. 

A woman came to visit them one day at the old hotel. Since the only people allowed in the city were government workers, it was slightly alarming. She was old, and short with pitch black hair and circular glasses. There was some kind of accent to her voice, but it wasn't very distinguishable. She said told them that she had a horrible vision of the future, but the two vamps didn't take her seriously.

"Angel, just listen to the bird, just so she'll leave." And then after a moment he added, "Please." Spike never said 'please' to him. Had Spike ever said please to anyone?

"Fine, but this is just gonna be a waste of our time."

So he sat down at a table with the woman. It was just her, him, and Spike.

"No, it will not be," she started. "You have your own problems, but in order to help yourselves you must also help your friends. Please complete the circle with your hands."

The two vampires looked at each other incredulously, but they complied and linked their hands together.

The the visions hit them instantly:

The Scoobies were arguing. Buffy was silent and still.

**Buffy and Faith in some town and then a bar.**

**Xander in a rural construction area.**

**Willow was shown in many different places.**

The visions started to become darker.

**They showed major floods, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, epidemics, and millions of people left dead.**

**Willow was standing on the edge of a cliff, but it wasn't Willow, just the witch. Her hair was pitch black, the land around her was dead and barren.**

**There was a group of slayers. You couldn't tell what they were up to, but they didn't look like they were on the good side.**

**Buffy was staring out a window, the land was barren. She had a scar on the right side of her face straight down from her forehead to her jaw line. There was no light in her eyes.**

**Xander looked horrible. He looked drunk actually.**

**Giles was shown sitting behind a desk. He was more of a business man now.**

**And Dawn was shown with Giles and then a random girl, a slayer. She appeared to be a spy for Giles, but was sympathetic with the girl. And spying on whom and what for? They didn't know, but it wasn't apparent what side she was really on.**

The last vision frightened them to the core.

**It was Buffy and the Witch standing across from each other, and they went to attack.**

**They were both beaten to a pulp.**

**There was a flash of light and one of them released a truly blood-curdling scream, but it was unclear who was screaming.**

Angel and Spike were snapped out of it.

"What in the bloody hell was that?"

"That was the future. The end of the world by the hands of the witch," the woman answered.

Angel didn't know what to make of it. "No, no that can't happen. Buffy wouldn't let it."

"But she did. They all did. And in the end she may not be the hero anymore."

Spike didn't like that, "She will always be the hero."

"Things change. People… give up, maybe? They can be crushed, beaten down. But you can stop it from happening, you have to save them."

"Who are you?" Angel asked.

The woman laughed. "Save them... or else watch the world burn." And then she disappeared into thin air right in front of their eyes. 

They weren't sure if this woman was telling the truth, but they couldn't stand around and watch this happen.

They got up and left for England immediately.


	7. The Gang No More

They took a boat to get there once they had made it to the other side of the country; it was the easiest way to avoid the sun considering Angel's Wolfram & Hart resources were gone. Spike, Angel, and Illyria arrived thirteen days later. Once they tracked down the Watcher they headed for his house, although when they arrived they realized it was more like a mansion. It was quite impressive; there were two wings by the look of it, and the gate was guarded by teenage girls, but they were slayers, of course.

Any normal person would think getting past them would be easy, but if they tried it they'd find out that they were horribly, horribly mistaken.

Angel went up to one of the slayers. "Hi, um, I'm Angel, this is Spike and Illyria. We're here to see Buffy and Giles, and Willow. All those guys, you know. They're not expecting us, but can we come in?"

The slayer stared at him for a minute. She had heard of the two vampires. All the slayers knew of them, but not because of their famous histories, only because of their relationship with the original slayer, Buffy. She wasn't sure exactly what to do here since he obviously wasn't aware that the group had split up, but she decided to call it in anyway. 

She took out a phone and called the house. Another slayer answered, her name was Jen.

"Hey, it's Gina. There are some people here to see Mr. Giles, important people. Angel, Spike, and... some blue chick."

"Oh, they don't know that the others aren't here then?"

"Nope."

"Wow, well this'll be awkward, but I'll go let him know."

"Okay, thanks."

Gina held up her pointer finger, signaling for them to wait.

Jen came back to the phone. "Send them in."

Giles was surprised, but not completely. He'd heard about the goings on in L.A., and he knew that Angel would come eventually. He was very confused when he heard Spike's name, though. Spike was dead, or well truly dead.

He headed to the main hall where the three had already entered.

"Uh, hello, welcome to our new headquarters." Giles wasn't sure where to start exactly.

Angel came over to him. "Hi, Giles, it's been a while."

Giles was staring at Spike and Illyria, prompting Angel to explain. "Uh, yeah, Spike's alive. We're not sure of the details as to how it happened, but..." He shrugged, trailing off, "And that's Illyria, she's, uh… was a god, not anymore."

"I am still a god. Just because I am in a human body and on this mortal plane does not take away what I am and will always be."

Angel stared at her, unimpressed. "Uh, yeah, right. So, we have some problems. Where's everyone else?" He said looking around.

Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning them. What was he supposed to say?

"Uh, they're not here."

Spike came forward. "Well, where are they then?" He knew something was not right here.

Giles sighed, "I don't know where they are. Everyone went their separate ways, that was around two years ago."

Angel and Spike were shocked. Spike had seen the group go through some very bad times, but they had never left each other's sides. "You mean no one has spoken-- no one has seen each other in two years? That sounds like bollocks to me, you all could never get rid of each other."

"Well, it's the truth. Things had been tense and then there was a big blow up. Buffy and Faith left together, then the others followed suit."

Angel was puzzled by that, "Buffy and Faith hate each other. Why would they leave together?"

"They hated each other when you knew them, but things change. You know that. They became quite close. There was always the potential for them to be good friends, and then due to the events that led to Sunnydale's demise and the aftermath they were brought together in an odd sort of friendship."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense, as odd as it still is, but okay, you really don't know where any of them are?"

"No, I don't. I don't mean anything against them, but do you really need them here? I see no reason to barge back into their lives as we have plenty of capable slayers here."

The two vamps looked at each other. What was going on here?

"Yeah, we kinda need them. It's concerning all of them, actually," Angel answered.

Giles was slightly annoyed. He had finally gotten used to everyone being gone, and he had no desire to go back to the incredibly strained state the gang was in when they were all living in the mansion.

"Well, I'd like to be filled in on what you know, and if it's necessary I suppose I could ask one of the witches to locate them while you explain."

"Witches?"

"Uh, yes, there are several new witches here."

This whole situation was going to take some getting used to for Spike. "So, that's how it is now? The whole gang's gettin' replaced?"

"It's not like that, Spike."

"Right. Well this is end of the world business so you best get on finding the others right now."

It took only hours for the witches to locate Xander. They figured he would be the easiest to find, but maybe not to convince. Having him on board could be a way of persuading the others, though.

It didn't even take that long to get his phone number. Giles dialed it, still feeling very unsure about this whole thing.

"Hello?" Said a young woman's voice.

"Um, yes, hello. Is Xander Harris there?"

"Yeah, hang on a sec. Alex, hun, there's a British man on the phone for you." She had a slight southern drawl.

There was a pause before he answered. "Hello?" But he already knew who it was.

"Xander, hello. I know it's been a while-"

"Yeah, it has. Look, I don't know why you're calling, but I won't come back. I have a new life now and it's different, but it's good for me." He was talking very quietly. Giles assumed that the woman who answered knew nothing of his life previous to Texas.

"Yes, I understand, believe me I did not want to call and bring you back into this, but it's important."

"Isn't it always?" He did sound more peaceful now, which only made Giles feel worse.

"Uh, yes, I- I suppose it is. It's end of the world business, but more importantly, it's involving Willow specifically, and Buffy."

Angel and Spike had explained the visions to Giles, as he requested, while Xander was being located. Meanwhile, Illyria, was being used as practice for the slayers. None of the girls had a chance against her.

Xaner was silent. He didn't know what to do. "What happened?"

"Well, nothing yet, but we'd like to prevent it."

"If nothing's happened yet I don't see why we're talking. I don't mean to be rude, Giles, but the future isn't written in stone right? So how do you know something bad will happen?" He was talking outside now so he wouldn't have to whisper.

"The seer envisioned the last argument and everyone leaving, so we would just like to make sure. It would be best if you came."

Xander sighed. He didn't want to sit by and watch the end of the world, but his new life didn't fit in with the old. But honestly, he missed the action sometimes.

"I'll leave as soon as I can, alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

He hung up. What was he supposed to tell Kelly?

"Hey sweetie, I need to go to England for a while."

"Why?"

Well, because I have to do some vampire slaying, demon killing, possibly apocalypse related business.

He thought about lying to her, but he had knew that some form of the truth would be the best. "My friend, the one on the phone, is having a gathering all us old friends together, you know they were like my family and it's been so long since we've seen each other. We didn't say goodbye on the best of terms, well, we didn't really say goodbye at all, but I think that I need to be there."

She smiled at him, "Of course. You should go. I know you don't really talk about them much, but you miss them. I can tell."

He kissed her forehead and went to pack his things. He would leave immediately.

Back in England, the witches were still trying to find Buffy, Faith, and Willow, but they were coming up empty.

"They don't exist."

Giles scoffed, "That's impossible. They can't not exist."

"Well, they don't show up anywhere."

"They don't wanna be found." Angel said.

"Yeah, but we have to find them. So what do we do now if they could be anywhere?" Spike asked the witches.

"Well, there's nothing we can do, it's too powerful for us. But, you could ask around, I guess. See if anyone's heard anything about them. I mean, they're the slayers and Willow's probably one of the most powerful witches in existence. Someone has to have heard something about them. Laying low doesn't really seem like their styles."

"I agree. You two should go around the demon bars and ask around, and if you know anyone here then you should find them as well."

They nodded and left.

The local demons heard some stories about the two slayers in Canada, Australia, India- you name it. But there were more people saying Mexico, so they decided to start there. No one knew anything about Willow, though, they're response was usually, "Who?"

Angel didn't know anyone in Mexico. "Do you know anyone in Mexico?" He asked Spike.

"I knew a bloke when Dru and I were there. Can't say he'll still be there, but it's worth a try. If not we can just ask around, knock some skulls, you know, the usual."

They called Giles and told him that they were headed to Mexico.


	8. Viva La Mexico

Angel and Spike arrived in Mexico seventeen days later. They wasted no time in finding the slayers, so they hunted down the guy Spike used to know. He looked like he could be related to Clem, but there were notable differences in the ears and hands.

"Heya, Spike! It's been a long time! How are you, man?"

Spike smiled back with fake enthusiasm, "I've been just swell, uhhh, mate," he didn't actually remember the guy's name, "I'd love to stay and chat, well not really, but we have some important business to take care of so I'm just gonna get to it. Have you heard anything about the slayers bein' down here for a couple years?"

"Well, there are a lot of slayers nowadays."

"Yeah, I'm talking 'bout the original two slayers, Buffy and Faith."

"Oh, them… Yeah, I've heard some stories…" He nodded his head slowly and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Angel and Spike looked at each other in confusion.

"What kind of stories?" Angel asked flatly.

"You know, the usual kind of things: chases, brawls, some pretty big fights. Last I heard, though, they're holed up in a little town not too far away. The demons here call it Demon Loco. Not sure why…"

"Right, thanks for your help." 

They headed there immediately, hoping to beat the sun.

It wasn't too hard to find, but it had taken a while to get to. And immediately after entering it they could pick up Buffy and Faith's scents. They "asked" around for their address and eventually found the little house where they lived. They weren't home, but through the slits in the curtains they could see symbols written on the walls. It was obviously their way of avoiding being found. The local bar was only second's away and it seemed like it was the place to be; it place looked packed and the music was blaring. 

They entered the bar intending to ask around about the slayers, but they didn't need to for the slayers were standing right before their eyes.

Buffy and Faith were dancing to the music, and they were very intoxicated.

Buffy was wearing a halter shirt, shorts, and wedges. She looked magnificent with her long, golden hair and tan skin. But there was something else about her. Spike realized the difference was that she was having fun. Real fun, and he hadn't seen her like that in a long time. It made him remember how much he really loved her. He had been trying for so long not to think about it, but there was no hiding it now.

The vamps were standing there gawking at the two women, well, honestly, it was really just one, no offense to Faith.

Even while drunk, slayer senses were powerful, so the girls knew they were being watched, but they thought it was just by some creep at the bar. Buffy turned around, ready to tell the person off, and instead she was completely blindsided.

_No,_ she thought. It couldn't be him. It couldn't. He was gone. _I saw him die._

"I didn't realize I was that drunk," was all she could say. It was the only explanation that made sense. _He would've told me if he was..._

Faith was just as surprised. "Neither did I."

"You see him, too?"

"Yep."

"So he's real?"

"Think so, B."

As amusing as this conversation was to watch, Spike knew he had some major groveling to do, and maybe ducking.

He took a step towards her. She meant to take a step back, but her legs weren't cooperating.

"Buffy…" What was he supposed to say? She was going to be angry with him, and she had every right to be angry with him, so he thought of the most romantic apology he could, but what actually came out was, "I should've told you about this a long time ago, I know, but you know I'm not the smartest bloke."

She was silent; this was just too surreal. 

"Spike…" She didn't know whether to hit him, hug him, yell at him, or completely throw herself at him. It took a few seconds to realize she was crying, and then he was wiping away her tears.

"Don't cry. I hate seeing you cry, luv."

She caressed his cheek and kept her hand there.

And it was this physical touch, combined with the rush of emotion she felt towards him in this moment, that snapped out of her loving, astonishment phase which then prompted her to punch him right in the nose, but the blow also sent her flying back. Luckily, Faith caught her.

"Ow! Bloody hell, woman! Shouldn't that have been the first thing you did?"

"W-Well," she sputtered, "it serves you right you-you jerk! Two years, Spike!"

"I know… I'm sorry, Buffy." It was a pathetic apology, he knew, but it was all her could say for now.

The whole time she never even registered that it was Angel there with him.

He was surprised by how emotional she was when she saw Spike, it even disturbed him a little. Angel walked towards them to interrupt their moment.

"Buffy, Faith, we need to talk."

Angel guided them towards a table. Buffy was too drunk and upset to focus on anything right now, but she followed him over there anyway, glaring at Spike while doing so.

She took a drink of her beer as she sat down. "So what's it this time? I don't think you two are here for a personal visit." She glared at Spike some more.

Faith was growing concerned about her friend. Buffy was in horrible shape after Spike died; she had no idea how Buffy would react to this. She'd probably get dunk, err, well, drunker.

Faith finished off her beer. "I'm gonna guess… I dunno… apocalypse?"

She took the vamps silence as confirmation. Buffy realized how odd this situation was. It was her, who was drunk, Faith, who was also drunk, Angel, and back from the dead Spike, in a bar, in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.

She started laughing. They all looked at her oddly. "Sorry, I think I'm a little tipsy."

Faith smiled. Buffy was beyond tipsy, as was herself, but she would take care of this. "Look, there are a whole bunch of mini slayers now, so I think they can probably get the job done. B and I are in on a, are in a... no," she paused, "we're on an extended vacation. Indefinitely. Got it?"

"You don't understand," Angel sighed in frustration, "it's not just an apocalypse. It's gonna happen because of Willow, and somehow you play a pivotal role in this, Buffy." Angel was upset because they weren't taking this seriously. The Buffy he remembered would be barking out questions and orders trying to figure out how to stop this from happening. Now she was just chugging the rest of her beer.

After she had finished her beer she responded, "It won't if I'm not there for it. I'm not going back."

"What happened to you? With all of you? The people I knew wouldn't hesitate to come back and help their friends and save the world."

"Well, I've changed and so has the world, and so have my friends. I'm sorry that I can't be the same old Buffy Summers for ya."

She got up and left. Faith nodded to the vamps and followed her out. If things were different she would catch up more with Angel, but now wasn't the time. 

Angel started to go after them, but Spike stopped him.

"Don't go after her. You'll only upset her more. She'll come round eventually."

Angel cursed the day that Spike knew Buffy better than he did. He rolled his eyes and asked, "How do you know?"

"Because she's too good. We just barged into her life and demanded that she change things. We're telling her to go back to the place where she was miserable, the place that she ran away from. And she's gonna have to see her friends again. Of course she wouldn't react well. It was bloody stupid of us to do it this way, of me to do it this way"

Angel hated that Spike had figured all this out. He was mostly concerned about Spike making a move on Buffy again, but he hid that concern. "We should leave. If we stay it'll just make things worse."

Spike nodded. "So long, Goldilocks," he sighed. He left that bar unsure if he would ever see Buffy Summers again and even more unsure about what the future had in store for them.


	9. Vampires Screw up Your Life Sometimes

"I cannot believe them! To just come here and try and tell me what to do! Ugh, stupid, self-righteous vampires," she muttered.

Buffy was angrily pacing the living room while Faith just sat on the couch and listened.

"You can be pretty self-righteous yourself, B."

"Whose side are you on?" Buffy demanded, turning to face Faith.

"Yours all the way, but I'm just pointin' out a fact. Gotta keep you grounded, ya know?"

Buffy sighed in defeat, "Yeah, you're right. I just... I can't believe he's been alive for two years and didn't tell me," her voice was growing smaller now as she sat down, "You'd think that'd be the first thing he would do! I thought I was important to him." She said that last part so softly that Faith barely heard her.

Faith knew that's what she had been truly angry about before. "You are. The way he looked at you? Damn, I wish someone would look at me that way. It was like he was seeing the light for the first time, B. But like you said: self-righteous vamps, so you should be angry."

Buffy shook her head, "He probably thought he was doing the right thing, and I doubt Angel helped. Stupid idiot, now I remember why I kinda hate him, both of them actually…" She trailed off and the over-looming apocalypse shot to the front of her mind. "What do you think about this new apocalypse thingy? You think it's real?"

Faith thought about it for a few seconds, "I dunno. Normally, I really would think the new slayers could handle it, but if it has to do with Willow, then…"

"It could be pretty bad? Yeah..." They sat in silence for a while before Buffy conceded, "Maybe we should go back."

Faith nodded, but didn't say anything. They had no choice. Willow could be very dangerous and there was no way the new slayers would be able to deal with her, especially if the Scoobies themselves could barely deal with her when she's deep into magic. They were going back to England, well, eventually, anyway. 

Seventeen days later, Spike and Angel were back at Giles' mansion.

Giles greeted them. "Any luck?"

"Not so much, but I think it was 'cos of us. She'll help. I know she will." Spike was certain about this.

"I believe she will, too," Giles paused. He wanted to ask about her, but wasn't sure if he deserved to know. He caved and asked anyway, "How is she?" They may not have spoken in two years, but she was still a daughter to him.

Spike was still in awe of her after so much time apart, but he thought it best to keep it simple and not so personal for the watcher. "She seemed good. Happy, as she can be," Spike shrugged. How was he supposed to tell him that she was flat out drunk? And very angry. 

Giles smiled. "Good. Uh, well, we still haven't found any trace of Willow--"

At that moment Xander walked in. He and Giles had a nice, but awkward, greeting earlier. They had said hello, made courteous small talk, and then separated for the evening. The elephants in the room were going to have to wait. 

"What the hell? Spike?" Xander had forgotten how many surprised this life brought with it.

"Yeah, uh, long story short, I guess I'm really not supposed to die, so I'm here still," he explained. 

Xander still held some hatred for Spike, but he remembered that he did save the world, and Buffy cared for him deeply. So he pushed those feelings away. He liked to think that the past two years have made him a better man, or at least a different man, so he should try and show it. Xander went over to him and stuck out his hand.

Spike was surprised, but he shook Xander's hand. No hand was offered to Angel, though which left the brooding vamp feeling slightly offended.

More small talk was made, and then they all headed to their rooms.

Meanwhile, the search for Willow continued.

Andrew, who had been away on a mission to locate a slayer somewhere in Australia, returned to the house the next day.

"G'day everyone! I hope all has been fantastic here. My top secret mission in Aussie territory-"

"Andrew, your mission was not top secret." Giles said while rolling his eyes.

"As I was saying, my mission down under, while maybe not top secret but certainly dangerous and confidential, was a success. The slayer is here, and so is- Whaaaaat! Spike? Oh my goodness! You're here! You're alive!"

Andrew ran over and threw his arms around Spike, much to his dismay. "Don't tell them I knew, please, please, please."

"Yeah, alright Andrew, but you need to stop hugging me," Spike mumbled.

"Oh, right sorry. I thought maybe your time of being back to life might've made you more in touch with your feelings, but I guess I was mistaken. Ah, hello, Angel."

"Hi, Andrew."

"So what are you two doing here? You didn't come to fight over Buffy again, did you?"

"It'll probably happen," said Spike.

"Not exactly," said Angel, at the same time.

The two vamps looked at each other. Spike was, of course, the more straightforward one, but they honestly hadn't talked about that. Yes, they had both thought about it, but they were more concerned with possibly having to save her life.

Giles intervened. "Actually, there is a risk of an apocalypse occurring. They are the ones who found out about it. We're trying to locate Willow, Xander's already here, and Buffy and Faith have remained uncooperative so far."

"You mean everyone's going to come back together?" Andrew was so happy that he could cry, "Finally, this family will be reunited."

"Not everyone's as excited as you, mate."

"But they will be, eventually, I know it." He always managed to look on the bright side.

After everyone talked a bit more, they all went and did their own things. It went on like that for a few more days. Then one night, at around three in the morning, Buffy and Faith quietly arrived. They had spent the last twenty or so days saying goodbye to their life in Mexico, and they made the most of it, but they were still not ready to deal with a reunion yet.

Buffy and Faith were greeted at the gate by Gina, a slayer that Buffy trained.

"Oh my God! You're back!"

Buffy smiled. Honestly, she didn't remember her name, but she recognized her. "Yeah, hi. Umm, please don't wake anyone up. Please. We don't really wanna see anyone yet."

"Oh yeah, of course! Go in!"

She opened the gate for them, and another slayer, Jen, welcomed them inside. Neither Buffy nor Faith recognized her.

"Hi! Welcome back. Do you want me to show you to your rooms?"

Faith kept walking. "No, thanks."

Giles' house was separated into two wings. One was remodeled and very nice. The other wasn't remodeled, but the two slayers loved it. It was old, and kind of musty, but it reminded Buffy of the part of the castle that Belle wasn't supposed to enter in Beauty and the Beast.

She chose the room at the very end of the hallway, probably because it was the farthest away from people. Faith chose to live in this wing because for some reason she felt comfortable in dumpy places.

The very first time Buffy entered the room she fantasized about finding an enchanted rose, but that didn't happen. She learned a long time ago that this wasn't a fairytale. Her room was beautiful, in an old, musky kind of way with a fireplace and a canopy bed.

Her room was one of the very few upsides to coming back.

Buffy walked down the hallway unsure of whether she should've come back at all. She was nervous, annoyed, and pretty tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. Buffy opened the door to her room and, again, there was no enchanted rose, but there was something, or more accurately, someone else there.

It was Spike, shirtless, while reading a book on the bed with a fire lit.

This was definitely not what she was expecting. It was no rose, but what the hell, she'd take it anyway.


	10. The Awaited Reunion

Buffy and Spike chose the same room. There was a certain amount of humor in this that she appreciated.

The minute she walked in he looked up. Her presence immobilized him; all he could do was stare. They both stayed silent and still for some time. It wasn't awkward, though.

She laughed, finally breaking the ice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in on you."

She moved away from the door, but didn't close it. She sat her bags down at a door a few rooms away and returned to his.

He was standing now, and only a few feet away from the door, and from her. "I take it this was your room."

She smiled fondly and nodded, "Yeah…"

"I could move out of it, if you like," he offered.

"No! No, no, it's fine. I left. The room was totally fair game."

They stood there for a while. It was unexpectedly comfortable being around each other.

"You came back," he said softly.

"Yeah," she thought for a moment before continuing on, "I had to. And I'm sorry about that. I should've listened, but no, I was all self-centered and kinda drunk Buffy."

He looked at her, his head tilted, with that piercing gaze that made her feel like he could see right through her.

"No, we shouldn't have come into your life and pushed you like that."

"But you had reason to-"

"No we-"

"Yes, you did-"

"But-"

They stopped abruptly and both laughed.

"Um, you can come in… If you want…" He smiled shyly.

"I'm not interrupting?" She didn't want to seem too eager. Not that he would've cared anyway. 

Sleep was the farthest thing from Buffy's mind now.

"No, I wasn't doing anything anyway." He quickly threw the book onto the floor as she sat down on the bed. 

"So, why'd you choose this room?" She asked, deciding that small talk would probably be the safest subject for now.

He sat by her, but left space between them, "It felt like home in a way. It's old, kind of dusty. But, I wonder what you saw in it?"

She laughed, "It, um, reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. It was also far away from everyone else."

He stared at her, and gave a small laugh. "I wasn't expecting that. But, yeah it does look like that, I suppose."

"You've seen Beauty and the Beast?" She replied, disbelief was thick in her words.

"Well, I mean, there was a lot of buzz going on about it, you know. And anyway, Dru and I thought the Beast was gonna eat the girl, or at least maul her to death. Instead we got talking furniture and a bunch of lovey dovey sing songs."

Buffy was slightly horrified, but she let herself laugh anyway.

They fell into another comfortable silence.

She really didn't want to get all serious yet, but she couldn't ignore the nagging voice inside her anymore.

"Spike…" She looked at him, and he looked back at her. He knew what she was going to ask, but he let he continue. "Why didn't you tell me?"

_I thought it was best for you, but now I'm thinkin' I was wrong about that_. "I wanted you to get on with your life, and I thought I'd only make it more complicated for you."

"Self-righteous vampire," she muttered. "I-- um," she wasn't sure how to say everything that was going through her mind right now. "My life will always be complicated. I've realized that now. But what helps is to have people that can help you forget and fix the complicated, the bad, stuff. And you've been good at that in the past, so I think my life... It's better with you in it." She was surprised by her own honesty. Especially since honesty was something they've had trouble with in the past. Buffy looked down at her hands, thinking of all the things she had done in the past two years, good and bad.

He saw how she was now, and it worried him. "Are you alright, Buffy?"

She laughed quietly, "I don't know. Sometimes I am. Other times…" She shrugged. She missed him so much it hurt? She felt perfectly okay, but only because she was drunk? What was she supposed to say? "Other times I'm not."

"Why?" He was really hoping it wasn't because of him, but deep down he knew it was.

"I just feel kinda lost." _Without you_ , she thought. His eyes were urging her on. "You were like my, my- I don't know, my anchor. Maybe it's dangerous to depend on someone so much, but I did. You were the one person who I could be completely honest with, well, in the times that I was honest. You just knew me and accepted me. And then you weren't there anymore, and I was useless with the other slayers here, so I just didn't know what to do with myself. I still don't." . She wanted to say this to him, but she kept it to herself for now.

Spike moved closer to her. Buffy had been more than honest with him, she deserved the same thing. "I thought that I went out in a great way, I couldn't just come back from that and say hi. I've done a lot of bad things, to you, to others, and I realized that I was never gonna have a better moment than that, and there were things that I didn't..." He trailed off. There was no need to go there yet. "But I felt the same way when you weren't there."

"I would've been there."

"I know."

"Stupid vampire," she muttered.

He smiled ruefully. "God, I've missed you."

She simply looked at him. "I know." After a pause a thought came to her, and she teased him with it, "I tried the whole dying to save the world thing a couple times, and it didn't work for me, so I don't know what made you think it would work for you."

"That's true, luv. I should've thought about that."

She thought about telling him she loved him, because she did. More than ever, but they still haven't talked about the last time, or more correctly, the first time she said it. Luckily, he spoke before she did. 

"What happened around here, Buffy?"

She sighed, "Oh god, a lot." _Where to start?_ "Everything was a mess. We never really talked about them kicking me out of my house, and tension built up 'cause of that, it was mostly from my side though. Xander was just devastated because... oh," then she stopped, "Anya died, I don't know if you knew that?" Spike nodded. Giles had filled him in on what happened after he died. "Anyway," Buffy continued, "he didn't realize how big of a loss it was until we got here. Then he wasn't really him anymore, and Willow was all weird 'cause of Xander and she was so much more powerful too. Her focus was on magic and stuff... And I, well, I was just, I don't know, empty? I barely talked to anyone, except Dawn and Faith. I dunno, we all just fell apart."

He was so surprised that he had done this to her. Was it possible that she really did love him, in those last days in Sunnydale? And if she did, had her feelings changed?

"You meant what you said, didn't you?"

There was no need to clarify. She knew what he meant. "Yeah, I did. I do."

"You love me?"

"Yeah, I love you."


	11. The Moon and the Stars Together Again

Spike couldn't believe it. She really loved him, and he was once stupid enough to not believe her. Maybe it wasn't that he didn't believe her, but when she told him that first time, he couldn't let himself believe her. Knowing the truth and then having to say goodbye to it the next minute would've been horrible. It would've been too tempting to leave.

He sat there on the bed with his jaw dropped. He didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to do? Apologize? That wasn't enough.

She didn't know what to say either. Maybe he finally, really believed her. But was it too late? She didn't know. What did she want to happen now?

Buffy started to get off the bed. "I should go, it's been a long couple days for me."

 _No!_ She couldn't leave now. Spike jumped off the bed. "Buffy, um, you know, you could stay here. I mean, it's your room after all. We could just, talk I guess, if you want. If you don't that's fine, I suppose…" He had turned into the babbling idiot.

She smiled, Spike was flustered and it was a rare sight to see. "Um, yeah, okay… That would be…nice."

They both sat down on the bed. Now it was awkward, but not in an unbearable kind of way.

She glanced at him, "Look, we can just act like that didn't happen... or not, I don't know."

"No, Buffy. We can't act like it didn't happen. That doesn't work with us, and you know it. I'm such a jerk, but you've never been exactly honest when it comes to your feelings. I thought -"

"You thought I was saying it 'cause you were gonna die. I know. It was bad timing, but I realized it was the last chance I was gonna get. I kept putting it off."

He took her hand. "Plus, luv, I had to get you outta there. You couldn't stay."

"I could've, I was gonna."

"I know, I saw that look in your eyes. But I couldn't let it happen."

She nodded her head. He really loved her. She felt good inside.

He decided to lighten the mood. "So, tell me, what have you been doing the past two years?"

So she told him. She told him everything from Faith waking up with a disgusting demon, their daily drinking habits (which made Spike question whether or not she had a problem), all the fights, the mistakes, and how much training they've been doing which prompted them to decide to start sparring together.

"I'll teach you a few things," she said teasingly.

"You? Teach me? I doubt that, pet."

"Yeah, I'm a real pro now."

He just laughed, although he didn't doubt her.

There was something that was bugging him, but there was no way he bring it up without sounding jealous, which he very much was, but he didn't have the right to be jealous.

"Umm, Buffy, what about... the Immortal?"

She glanced at him and decided that he was being genuine enough. "That was, uh, just a fling, nothing important to me. He was nice, you know, but completely full of himself."

He was insanely happy to hear this, but he kept it cool on the outside. "Yeah, I never cared for him either."

They continued to talk all night with Buffy snuggled up next to Spike.

Eventually, their talking died down. They were just enjoying being in each other's arms again. It had been too long.

Buffy looked up at the ceiling and noticed something that wasn't there when she lived here. "Is that a skylight?" 

"Yeah, apparently one of the witches tried to turn this into a plant room or something, and they had that put in."

"So what happened to the plants?"

"I guess she accidentally caught them on fire," he shrugged. "Witches."

She laughed and stared up at the sky, "Well, it looks nice anyway."

Buffy fell asleep in the early morning, at first he just watched her, and held her, but eventually he drifted off to sleep, too, after staring up at the moon and stars. It was a perfect night.

Angel woke up early that morning. He walked out of his room and noticed someone's bags in the hallway. They were Buffy's, he just knew it. But why were they in the hall?

He walked over to the room her bags were in front of, it was empty, so where was she? Then he caught her scent, which went towards Spike's room. _No. No, why would she be in there?_

He went to the door and quietly cracked it open. There she was, lying in his arms. As much as he hated to admit it, she looked peaceful. He reluctantly closed the door and went to work out a bit, mostly it was to get his anger out. 

Buffy and Spike awoke sometime later. She hadn't felt so happy in a long time. She opened her eyes and looked at Spike, who was still asleep. Buffy couldn't believe she was here in his arms after so long, after everything that happened.

Spike's eyes blinked open, he could feel her staring at him. "Whatcha thinkin', luv?"

"Just that, I'm really happy. And it's because of you."

He smiled. He loved her even more when she said things like that. The honestly they could have now was freeing. 

They continued to lie in bed for a while, until finally deciding that they, well actually she, had to get up and face everyone eventually.

"Well, I'll see you soon." Buffy said, smiling as she walked out of her room which was actually now Spike's.

"Back at ya, Slayer."

Spike also hadn't been so happy in ages. He thought that they would never have an actual chance together, and here she was with him when Peaches, who he always thought was her true love, was in the same building. Maybe he was though, and if he was, did that matter?

Could she actually choose him? Sure, she loves him, and he really does believe her now, but would she actually decide to be with him?

At the moment he didn't really care, he was just floating on cloud nine.

She felt deliriously happy. It was probably obvious too. The only thing that brought her party down was the thought of seeing the others. Giles, Xander, Willow, not to mention Angel which includes a much dreaded, serious conversation. She expected the word cookies to be involved.

Buffy showered dressed and then went to knock on Faith's door.

The other slayer opened her door warily, then as she realized who it was she smiled and let Buffy in.

"Ready to get on with this circus act, B?"

"We are one big freak show, aren't we? Well, it was bound to happen eventually."

"No doubt about that. So let's just go get this over with."

They walked down the corridor and went towards the library, which was the HQ for everything. That hadn't changed.

Giles was in there waiting. As he turned around and saw his slayer, once a daughter to him, his heart filled with love, regret, and uncertainty.

"Buffy, hello. And hello to you as well, Faith."

Faith nodded at him. She had no feelings of ill will towards him, but the two of them didn't really need any type of reunion.

Buffy didn't know what to say to him. "Giles." It was just his name, but it seemed like it conveyed enough of what she wanted.

They stood there awkwardly. As much as she loved him, they couldn't have the big reunion filled with hugs. There were too many things that needed to be talked about first.

So instead of hugging him, she gave him a smile. "It's good to see you again," she really did mean it.

"And it's good to see you as well. I hope you've been doing alright."

"Yeah, I have. And you?"

He looked at her and gave a small smile, "I've managed."

Before their conversation could go anywhere else, Xander walked in.

"Hey, Buffy," he sounded happy to see her, but there was an underlying wariness, or maybe it was a sadness. Buffy couldn't really tell. 

"Hey, Xander."

They, too, stood there awkwardly.

"It's been awhile, huh?"

She smiled at him, she was surprisingly happy to see him, eye patch and all. Although she was mad at him, he was the one she harbored the least amount of blame and anger towards. He lost his eye and the love of his life. She could relate, well not with the eye thing anyway.

"Almost too long, actually." She said.

He nodded and walked closer to her. Should they hug or not? He wasn't sure so he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She found it a welcome gesture.

In walked Andrew. "Buffy! The Slayer of the Vampyres is back, err, I mean slayers. Hello, Faith. You look… tough and frightening as usual." Faith just gave him a nod; the two had butted heads many times, but it was never serious. Buffy and Andrew hugged each other. She had appreciated him ever since that night in the new Sunnydale High when she convinced him that he had to die in order to close the seal. And surprisingly, he kept on proving himself.

Spike and Angel had been waiting at the door, unseen. They didn't want to intrude on their first meeting in two years.

"So," Buffy said, breaking the underlying tension, "who else is here?"

"Well," Giles answered, "we haven't located Willow yet, but Spike and Angel are here, as is a companion of theirs. Dawn should be here anytime, but otherwise everyone else is still here."

On cue, Spike and Angel walked in with Illyria trailing behind. Angel went over and hugged Buffy, she was taken aback by it. She wasn't sure how to act around him; her feelings for him were still there, but they were the same feelings she had for him when she was in high school, and she had changed enormously since then. He just wasn't what she wanted anymore, it was as simple as that. 

"I'm glad you came back," he told her. It almost sounded like an apology.

She smiled at him nodded as he went to hug Faith.

Spike walked over to her unsure how to act with her in front of people. "Buffy," he said curtly, but not unkindly.

"Spike."

He looked over at Faith, "Hey."

Faith just smirked, "Why're you so happy, bleachboy?"

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her, "No reason," he answered defensively.

Then Buffy noticed Illyria standing in the back of the room. "Uh, who's the goth smurfette?"

"Whoa, is that Fred?" Faith barely recognized her.

"Who?" Buffy had no idea what was going on.

Angel stepped in. "Fred was... a good friend, and then a couple years ago her body got taken over by an ancient demon king, Illyria."

At the mention of her name, Illyria came forward. "So this is the human that plagues the both of you. The way you talked about her made her seem more impressive, but she appears to be insignificant to me."

Before Buffy could say anything in response, Angel whisked Illyria away and Spike moved Buffy further away from the former king. It would certainly be an impressive fight between the two, but there's no telling how much damage would be done to them.

Buffy, after calming down some, turned to Giles. "So how are we supposed to find Willow? I mean she's an uber powerful witch who doesn't wanna be found."

"Well, someone has to have seen her, and all we have to go off is other people's words. It will take a while."

"Do we have any general idea where she is?"

"We think somewhere in Asia, according to a few rumors, but that's as close as we've gotten."

Buffy and Faith looked at each other knowingly. "Buffy and I have some contacts in certain places. Mostly demons, but they might've heard something."

Giles was curious on how they acquired these contacts (he was actually quite curious as to everything they've been up to), especially demons, but he kept his mouth shut. "Good, hopefully they will be of help."

Buffy looked around her and took everyone in. She didn't expect to see all these people back together for a very long time, and certainly not under these circumstances, but so far things were going well. It was time for her to take charge of them again and get Willow found.

"Okay then, Faith and I will contact our…contacts; Giles… will do whatever he normally does around here, headmast or something; Spike and Angel will do… whatever you guys normally do during the day; Andrew and Xander, uh, you guys just hang here and maybe wait for Dawn to show up or something. Cool?"

She was a little rusty on giving orders, so what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've already written most of this story, but I'm rewriting it and then obviously posting it here, and idk this chapter was just kind of painful to do and I don't think it's that good so I'm sorry. I don't know if it's just me so that's why I'm telling you this :) But I wanted to move on so I posted it. And I'm putting up the next one to go along with it because it's a teaser. I hope the reunions were okay, I didn't want them to be some grand thing. That'll happen later in a way. And I'll stop babbling now...


	12. She's Definitely Not Turning Japanese

They were searching for her, but they wouldn't find her. Not unless she wanted to be found, and currently that wasn't on the schedule.

Somewhere along the way she lost herself. The black took over. No one's death caused it this time. Nor did any power like the First. It really just happened. She lost the things, the people, that grounded her in sanity, and that made the return to darkness so much easier.

It wasn't like she was murdering people this time around; she wouldn't let herself go that far. But, dark magic was definitely a part of her now, and murder was a possibility looming over.

Would she loose complete control soon?

Maybe, maybe not.

It wasn't up to Willow anymore.


	13. The Wicked Witch of the Future

People only had old information about Willow. They saw her a few years ago, she was here in June, or July, and August a couple years ago. It was as if she just disappeared one day, which, with her being a powerful witch, was actually very possible and likely.

The longer it took to find her, the more nervous everyone became since she was a key person in solving the mystery of these visions. Were they really true, or just a false image of everyone's worst nightmare?

What they didn't know was that she could see them; she was watching them. She hadn't planned on showing herself to them, especially not this early, but her plans had no option but to change. She had fallen a little bit deeper into the magic. No, it wasn't magic so much, it was more like a black hole that she didn't want to get sucked into, but there's no fighting it.

They wouldn't understand. They would try and plead with her to come back, they'd say they could help her, but really, they couldn't. There was more going on than they even knew.

But, the timing wasn't right yet. All Willow could do was wait for the right moment to present herself.

**Two years ago:**

Willow was sitting in her apartment, blogging about the latest trend in spells while listening to an instructor on her headphones. Learning the local language was not as easy as she thought it would be.

"Repeat after me," the voice on the program said.

"Repeat after me. Oh, you probably didn't want me to repeat that part, huh? Well, you're just gonna have to deal with it missy."

There was a knock on the door, but she didn't hear it. The knocking grew louder and more rapidly, but still, Willow did not hear it, she was too focused.

He concentration was broken due to a muffled crash that came from her doorway. Willow got up and went to see what had happened, but she was met by an old woman rushing across her living room.

Willow backed away, but before she could get any words out the lady grabbed her hand, and said, "Two years from now there will be an apocalypse. You will prevent it, but your efforts will not be recognized by anyone else. It must be you and you alone in your struggle. You will have to face your fears and go to the deepest places to complete this task. Do not tell the others of what you are doing; you must embrace the role of villain."

Before Willow could process anything that was said, visions were flashing through her mind. They were shocking, and they wouldn't stop.

**There was the final argument between everyone.**

**Buffy and Faith in a rundown bar.**

**Xander in a construction area.**

**She saw herself in different places all over the world.**

**There were floods, hurricanes, tornados, epidemics. There was so much death.**

Her worst nightmare was next. 

**She saw herself, her hair black as night, standing on the edge of a barren cliff.**

**A group of slayers was shown next, although they didn't appear to be Giles' slayers.**

**Then there was Buffy, with a gruesome scar on her face, looking more of a warrior than ever.**

**Xander looked horrible, bloated, possibly drunk.**

**Giles was dealing with some papers of some sort.**

**Dawn was talking to one of the weird looking slayers. It seemed secretive.**

**Willow, more accurately the witch, was standing across from Buffy. They went to attack.**

**They were bruised and bloody, they could barely stand.**

**The visions went black, then there was a flash of light and all that was left was the sound of a scream, full of pain and defeat.**

The visions were over. Willow couldn't form any words.

"Wha... Wh..."

"Shhh, don't speak. Do you remember what I told you?"

Willow only nodded her head. She needed to sit down.

"Good. You will figure out your role with time. Be patient, don't rush this," with that the woman was gone.

Willow was left sitting on her couch, completely confused, astonished, and scared. Should she believe the woman? Visions can be faked easily, but something about that felt so real.

She had known for a while that something had upset the universal balance. Did it have anything to do with what happened in L.A. recently? It was all over the news. The city was in complete destruction. She could contact Angel, who was no doubt involved, but she was supposed to work alone…

Somehow she had to figure out what was really going on. A part of her truly did believe the woman, but she couldn't go on blind faith alone.

**Present time:**

Two years. She had sacrificed so much and tried too hard. Unfortunately, she was failing in her efforts. The apocalypse grew closer, and she was running out of time.

She had to go to the end of the world to figure out what she was supposed to do, and the information she found out there was terrifying.

When she shows up, they will fight her, and she will do whatever it takes to save the world.

If only they could know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know my chapters have been kind of short, but since the story is pretty much set up they will start to get longer :)


	14. Reunited and It Feels So Painful

"Tell me again about these visions."

Buffy and Spike finally had some time alone. The search for Willow had been going non-stop for days. The team was exhausted. She and Faith's contacts came up empty, and no one else made any progress either.

"Haven't you heard enough about them already?" Spike didn't like to think about them, but he did constantly. The second best thing he could do was to try not to talk about them, but Buffy was making it difficult.

Buffy responded to his answer by glaring at him in annoyance.

He sighed. There was no winning with her. "They were… intense." That was an understatement, but he hoped it would suffice.

"How so?"

"There was so much death and destruction. Basically, it was William the Bloody's dream land. I mean it might not have been caused in a liked way, but you get the point."

"And there was a vision of me, right?"

He nodded curtly. Her face in that vision haunted him, and it wasn't the scar, although that was horrifying. It was the look in her eyes that did it. They were full of anger, hate, sadness, and emptiness if that's at all possible at once. What happened to make her like that? What caused that scar? Would she die in retaliation? These were the questions that kept him awake in the day.

"Spike, some explanation would be much appreciated."

He shrugged casually, "You had a nasty scar across your face, that's all."

"And you were repulsed by me, right? Oh my god…" She was only being half serious.

"No! God, no. I'm just worried about how you got it, is all." He couldn't believe it. _Buffy, be repulsive? In what world is she livin' in?_

Her eyes narrowed. There was something that he wasn't telling her, but she wouldn't push it. At least not today.

Since that night that Buffy came back they had fallen into their old ways. Like how they were together in those final days in Sunnydale. They trusted each other completely and they were never far from each other's side. The only difference was that they were a little more loving with each other this time around. Not physically, though, that would be a whole new step that they weren't ready for yet.

While Buffy and Spike were off talking, Angel was sent looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. There was no scent to pick up, so she hadn't been around the house much today. He couldn't bear the possibility that they might be together right now. He still hadn't had a chance to speak with her about anything. Not even their current Willow problem.

Eventually, after some wandering around, he spotted her, with Spike, sitting in the rarely used dining room.

He cleared his throat. Buffy jumped. She and Spike had been so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't hear or sense him.

"Oh god, Angel, you scared me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to. Giles called a meeting in the library."

Spike snorted. "And he sent you to fetch everyone, or did you volunteer so you could come and break up me and the slayers little meeting?" His tone was thick with anger and satisfaction from knowing how jealous Angel was.

Buffy looked at him, "Spike," she said curtly. She did not like being in the middle of this. Sometimes their feud could be entertaining, but mostly it was just annoying and awkward.

Spike looked down, almost in shame it seemed, "Sorry, slayer," he stood up and looked Angel in the eyes, "Let's go then Peaches. We don't wanna keep Rupert waiting," even though he was trying to smooth things over, he still kept an edge of mockery in his tone.

The walk to the library was completely silent and more than uncomfortable, but luckily it was ended sooner than expected when Buffy spotted Dawn also heading towards the library.

"Dawn!" Buffy beamed.

Dawn smiled back, ran over to her sister, and threw her arms around Buffy.

The two sisters, unbeknownst to everyone else except Faith, had done their best to keep in contact over the last two years. The hard part was to make sure Buffy's location wasn't put out into the open. Whether it was through secretive or encrypted emails, phone calls or even letters, they did their best to talk to each other. While they were hugging each other they managed to have a small, quiet conversation.

"I swear I didn't tell them where you guys were. I don't know how they found you."

"It's okay Dawnie, Spike and Angel found us."

Dawn then remembered that Spike was alive and here. She ran over and blindsided him with a hug.

"Hey Bit, or not-so-Bit actually." He was still unsure about their standing with each other, but he never held anything she said to him in Sunnydale against her. He deserved it, and he came to respect her even more because of it.

"Oh my god, Spike! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Before Spike could respond, Giles spoke up.

"I don't mean to interrupt your reunions, but we have some very important news to discuss." Giles, looking quite impatient and almost frightened, stood at the entryway to the library.

They filed into the room and took their seats.

"Willow has been spotted-"

"What?"

"Where?"

"When?"

Giles held up his hand. "Today, only a while ago actually, and she was right here on our grounds. But, there's something else. One of the younger slayers saw her, not knowing it was Willow because her hair was pitch black."

No one said anything. They tried so hard to help Willow gain control of her power, and they should have realized that leaving her on her own might have set her back. 

Buffy, as the others did, felt guilty. She knew that it was slightly irrational, it wasn't truly her fault, but she couldn't help but think that maybe all the times that she had been getting drunk and having fun, Willow could have been struggling, or she might have been in pain. Buffy felt guilty for the first time since she left for Mexico.

"We have to help her," she said quietly.

Faith didn't want to rain on the Scooby support parade, but she had to say something before it got out of control. "Look, I know I wasn't around when she went all wicked witch before, but I've heard the story. I mean, would she really listen to us?"

No one answered her for a few minutes; they knew Faith was right. There was no way Willow would listen to them when she was like this.

"Well, we at least have to try. Maybe my yellow crayon speech would work again?" Xander proposed weakly.

"I'm too powerful to fall for that now."

Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice. She had appeared in the library out of thin air.

At the sight of her Andrew slid under the table. "Don't let her see me!"

Everyone except Buffy, Faith, Spike, and Angel backed away from Willow.

Buffy stood up. "Wil, come on, this isn't you. Come back from this, we can help you."

Willow went and took a seat. "No, you can't. As a matter of fact, no one can." She sighed. They were so predictable.

"Willow, you're gonna hurt a lot of people. This needs to stop."

"You just jump to doubting me, Buffy. Why is that?"

"Because you're dangerous like this."

"No it's more than that. Even when I'm plain ol' Willow, you don't exactly trust me anymore, do you?"

"I will always trust you, Wil, with my life even, but just not when you're this person."

_Oh, if only they could know that I'm not the bad guy, well not exactly anyway_. Dark magic seems to have a sort of evil effect on her. Even if it's for the greater good.

"Well, that's a shame then. I guess I should be on my way, I've got things to do," she said as she stood up.

"I can't let you do that."

Willow laughed, "How are you gonna stop me?"

"In any way I can."

"This high and mighty act is awful old, Buffy. Try a new routine."

"Willow, please don't do this."

"And no, pleading won't work. Nothing will. I will do anything I have to in order to get out of here, and it doesn't take much. So stand down."

The magic was taking control of her now. She had to leave, there was no other option, or she would do something she'd surely regret.

"No, Willow, you know I can't do that."

"Look, Buffy, get out of the way or you will get hurt. That's guaranteed." Her voice was shaking now.

But Buffy didn't back down, and Willow didn't know what to do. She could leave, just pop out of the room, but the magic wouldn't let her. It had been too long and it wanted a fight. After a moment Buffy took a step forward. She was really pushing it. Willow could feel herself shaking with magic.

Another step.

Willow was losing control at a quicker pace. Buffy thought she was getting to her, but it was actually the opposite and she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Suddenly, Willow's hand flew out in front of her and a burst of dark magic, lighting up the room in purple and black, shot out, hitting Buffy.

"Buffy!" Everyone cried out while running towards her.

Before Willow could show her true emotions she disappeared. She had to play the villain, but in doing so she only increased the chance of another vision coming true.

So what was she supposed to believe? _What am I supposed to do? I follow my instructions and only ruin things more. What have I done?_

Only weeks ago there started to be a rise in weather activity. There were fatal tornadoes in unusual areas, a deadly hurricane on the coast of Australia. Willow had no idea if she had contributed to this at all through her methods. She wanted to believe that she was doing good, and preventing an apocalypse, but maybe she was the cause after all. It didn't help to doubt herself, though. If this extreme weather continued then eventually these storms would appear in greatly populated areas, and they could get more and more intense and another one of the visions would be true.

She had hurt Buffy. How was she supposed to take that back, or fix it? _Maybe if everything works out in the end, Buffy will understand. They all will_.

But, for now she had to get the hell out of England.


End file.
